Fall fiction: Tom Wolfe goes 'Back to Blood'

Posted by Trisha on March 26, 2012

It's been a long wait for Tom Wolfe fans, but on October 23, 2012, Little, Brown will publish Back to Blood, a novel about race relations in Miami that he reportedly sold for $7 million on a 28-page proposal.

We interviewed Tom Wolfe for his last book, I Am Charlotte Simmons (FSG), which was released to somewhat disappointing reviews back in 2004. But race and immigration are meatier topics than simply exposing college hijinks, and Back to Blood could be a comeback for the celebrated writer.

If you're wondering what the title means, this excerpt from the proposal makes it pretty clear:

So, my people, that leaves only our blood, the bloodlines that course through our very bodies and unite us. “La Raza!” as the Puerto Ricans cry out. “The race!” cries the whole world. The Muslims? Their jihad? Their Islam? All that is nothing but a screen, a cover story. What they are, is … Arabs! Forget the rest of it! Arabs! — once the rulers of all Asia and half of Europe! Once the world’s reigning intelligentsia- — and now left behind in the dust of modern history! Back to blood, muhajeen! They, like all people, all people everywhere, have but one last thing on their minds — Back to blood!” All people, everywhere, you have no choice but — Back to blood!